The Veggie Blog

They call it the land of innovation. Where every market is saturated with competition. All products that can be made are already there. Well, I am telling you that’s not true. I’ve lived in the US for the last 5 years. And from day 1 when I landed at Cincinnatti airport and went scurrying to find some vegetarian food, I have wondered time and again why there isn’t a nice vegetarian burger widely available in the US? Not just the US, in fact, it is almost everywhere else in the world, except the metro cities in India. I have looked for them at airports in Franfurt, at Singapore, Paris, Abu Dhabi, Bharain, Kuwait and a few more. Nothing. Nada. No sign of the elusive veggie burger.

Now you might be thinking that you’ve seen veggie burgers at the grocery store and at other burger places, so WTH am I blabbering about!? Well, you are right that those are available. But compared to the good ones that I’ve had, they are just so bad that I don’t even count them in.

Veggie burgers can have a Soy base, Gluten base, Rice four base, and the best of them all, a potato curry base. I have not seen a single place in the US that sells the potato-based veggie burger. McDonald’s in India sells them and they are amazing. My mouth waters at the mere thought of those juicy spicy veggie burgers with the fresh warm bun, molten cheese, crispy lettuce and a hint of mayo. Why don’t they make it here? I am almost sure the Americans will love it too. So, that one’s still a mystery to me.

Even the soy ones like the ones at Burger King are usually pretty bad. Instead of the meat-based cheeseburger, they just replace that with an old stale under-cooked burger piece. For Soy burgers, sprouts go really well with it and I’ve seen that in a couple of places including The Habit Burger Grill in the Los Angeles area (Ventura, Encino and a few others) and the Veneetian Resort and Casino at Las Vegas. So the next time you visit LA or Vegas, try them out, they are a delight. Image Courtesy of RosevilleRestaurants.net.

So here’s my requrest/plea/challenge to all the burger fanatics out there - make a veggie burger in the US and I think you will be surprised how much demand there is for it. If you do make a million with this idea, make sure you post a comment here and let me know

I am a vegetarian living in Las Vegas and if you are a vegetarian in the US, you know how it can be pretty hard to find good vegetarian food at times. That’s when you need to get positive and creative. There truly are a ton of vegetarian dishes right around the corner that we often don’t think about because the restaurant is not exactly known for its vegetarian dishes. Hey, the reason why some restaurants are not famous for their vegetarian dishes is because vegetarians eating at those places are in a microscopic minority, and sometimes their vegetarian dishes can actually be better than their other offerings. Here are three dishes that you should most probably be able to find in your neighbourhood without a problem, so here you go:

1. Einstein Bros Bagels: They have a Vegetarian Sandwich that is to die for. The sprouts and the garlic-paste in gives is a very refreshing taste and texture. They can even make your sandwiches on a bagel and you will probably agree that they make one of the best bagels out there. The sandwich costs about $6 and comes with a side of potato salad or chips. The potato salad is vegetarian and pretty good as well. So the next time you are wondering what new to eat for lunch, give the bagel bros a try!

2. Vegetarian Thai Fried Rice: I have had Thai Fried Rice in several Thai restaurants and they never disappoint me. Restaurants have different styles and that makes it fun to try this at different Thai restaurants. You can usually tell them how spicy you want it to be so you can adjust it to your taste. My favorite Thai restaurant in Las Vegas is Kung Fu. Their Fried Rice is just $6 and is amazing value for that money. I honestly would pay $9 for it I think. They also have the Panang Vegetarian and the Pad Thai which are to die for as well. The Panang Vegetarian is a coconut milk and peanut butter sauce based dish with sauteed vegetables. Yummy! Try your local Thai place the next time and ask them what they can do for you in Vegetarian. You will be surprised how good they can be.

3. Chipotle Burrito: This is my favorite when I am really hungry. They have a HUGE vegetarian burrito. Like all other Chipotle stuff, the burrito is quite flavorful. I always ask them to add a few drops of lime or lemon because I like the citrus flavor with burrito. What I like about their burrito other than the fact that is is perhaps the biggest Burrito I’ve ever had is that the tortilla is moist and soft. And the ingredients are always fresh. The rice is always perfectly cooked and tastes quite yummy. Ask to add the guacamole and their medium corn salsa, and you have a $6.5 dish that will fill you up good

I hope you enjoyed reading about these 3 vegetarian ideas to try out in your neighborhood!

Jeff Popick has been writing articles and information about the benefits of the Vegan lifestyle. He assumes the title of the “Vegan Sage” which is kind of funny to me actually. But title aside, the things that he says are right on. He recently wrote a neat Ebook called “The Real Forbidden Fruit“. This book goes into the details of how a vegan lifestyle benefits both the Vegan as well as the entire world. He talks about how our farming and livestock practises have eroded the top soil in the US in just 300 years. He talks about how vegans contribute to stopping global warming. He also dedicates and entire section to talking about the myths surrounding vegetarianism and veganism and how and why they are false. Overall, a good read for any Vegetarian or Vegan or anyone considering to become one even partially. Read the Ebook - The Real Forbidden Fruit and let me know what you think.

He also has a neat Vegan Restaurant Search by zip code on his site, which actually works unlike many other similar restaurant searches on the ‘net. Also, the results were quite accurate for my zip code in Las Vegas.

Add to Onlywire

Disha and I went to the Florida Keys recently and we had a GREAT time. It really felt like a vacation. This isthe first real vacation that we went to since we got married last year in May 2006. We tried a bunch of Vegetarian items but really most of the restaurants specialized in seafood. The only thing there that we could eat was the seaweed and it did not make much sense to go to a seafood restaurant just for that. We wanted to try the Key Lime Pie (Picture courtesy and copyright of www.andreasrecipes.com) but never got around to doing. I don’t know why. I guess it was so common there that we kept thinking that we would do it later and then never got around to doing it :(. Well, it’s alright, there’s always a next time :).

We ate at an Italian Restaurant there called the Keys Italian Cafe and their Eggplant Parmegan was to die for! We also ate at the local favorite breakfast place called The Doc’s Cafe. There are several Doctor clinics in that complex so I guess that’s where the ‘doc’ comes from. The name is weird but the food certainly is not. The breakfast was great, service was good too. Not a really great vegetarian selection but pretty fresh. I would certainly recommend both places.

We stayed at this new resort called The Manatee Bay Resort and they were THE BEST. The staff there - front desk Manager Robert was so friendly I was surprised. We got the place for a bargain and our room faced the ocean. The rooms were brand new. What more could we ask for. I am trying to find any cons but honestly can’t think of any.

Here are a couple of our pictures from the Florida Keys. We went there during the Fantasy Fest and trust me, KEY WEST IS CRAZY DURING FANTASY FEST. Everyone is dressed in costumes or paint their bodies. Clothes are hard to find but all in good taste. They know how to party man, that’s for sure! I would totally go there again!

Picture copyright owned by www.tigersandstrawberries.com

I just tried the Vegetarian Singapore Noodles at the 24/7 cafe at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and I think it was GREAT. I have eaten Veggie Singapore Noodles at several restaurants in different cities and countries (India, US, Germany - at the airport, Singapore) and almost every one of them has been a different dish altogether. All of them have been pretty good though so I am not complaining. Usually they are some kind of noodles mixed with curry and vegetables and I like it best with lots of vinegar and soya sauce. Added baby-corns makes it even better if they can do that.

The thing is that Chinese restaurants are usually not the best veggie friendly places. Over the years I have accidentally been subjected to various kinds of meats (mostly meat sauces) accidentally at chinese places. But singapore noodles are both available as veggie usually and also appeal to the Indian palette often.

You don’t even have to leave your home to try Singapore noodles. Order them online from The Veggie Plaza by clicking here. This is a Thai variation of the Singapore noodles and I love the way the coconut sauce enhances the flavor of the curry in this dish. Delicious!

But the best Singapore Noodles that I have eaten to this date are the ones that are sold in most chinese restaurants in India! I know what you are thinking - India, are you crazy? - Noodles from Sinagapore, sold in chinese restaurants in Mumbai? How can that be good? Well, I did not say “authentic”. It certainly is nothing like the Singapore Noodles I ate in Singapore. However, it tasted heavenly. I have had it at several Indian Chinese restaurants in Mumbai and they are almost always good. Something to do with the way Thai and Indian spices blend I guess. If you are in Mumbai and want a break from all the Indian food, well, there’s a bizarre option for you.

Have a great week!

I live in Las Vegas and visit vegetarian restaurants here all the time. Here are my favorites:

1. Veggie Delight: They offer the best lichee boba drink I’ve ever had. They specialize on veggie meat sanwiches. Their steak sandwich is my favorite. Sometimes the people there don’t speak English. But other than that, I am all praise for this little veggie place.

3504 Wynn Rd, Las Vegas, NV

(702) 310-6565

2. Long Life Vegetarian Restaurant: This is a vegan-chinese restaurant in Las Vegas. Quite a rare combination around this part of the world. Their Beef dishes and the seaweed salad are very popular. A couple of my friends travel across town to eat at this place almost every week.

4130 S Sandhill Rd # A4, Las Vegas, NV

(702) 436-4488

3. Go Raw Cafe: This place is warming, peaceful and friendly. The food is completely raw and organic. They do live up to their name. The dishes are presented well too. The staff is nice and the place is always pretty busy. Try a fresh juice, all fruit smoothie, or a pizza made out of sprouts, seeds, and veggies. A very good price for a healthy meal. Their website is www.gorawcafe.com.

2910 Lake East Dr, Las Vegas, NV

(702) 254-5382

I will write about more vegetarian-only or vegetarian/vegan friendly places in the near future. If there are any other such restaurants that you know about, leave me a quick comment. I will appreciate that.